BDR members tortured in custody!

By Jahangir Alam Akash, Another two Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) members were tortured and struggled for their lives while they were in so-called safe custody. The two tortured were admitted to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Sept. 14, 2009. They were tortured by members of the Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) cell during questioning about the BDR mutiny case. Members of the TFI cell and the New Market police admitted them at around 5:00 p.m. Source: The Daily Star, Sept. 15, 2009.

Sources said that the ailing BDR members are Reazul Islam, 22, of Battalion-5 in Khagrachhari, and Mohammad Arafat, 24, of Battalion-13 in Dhaka. Both BDR members were present at BDR headquarters during the so-called mutiny on Feb. 25-26. They bore severe injury marks on their knees, which indicated that they suffered torture, sources added. While lying in his hospital bed, one of the BDR members said, “We were tortured brutally during interrogations ever since we had been taken to the TFI cell on Sept. 10, 2009.” The officer-in-charge at the New Market police station said, “We were told over the phone from Pilkhana about the ailments of the two BDR members, so our men took them to the hospital.” Asked about the two members, Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Abdul Kahar Akand said, “I heard about their ailments, but have yet to know the causes, as they were being interrogated under the TFI cell.” Akand, the main investigating officer of the mutiny case, also added, “We brought in 16 more young men on Thursday for interrogation under the TFI cell.”

At least 50 BDR members have died of unnatural causes and most died after being brutally tortured. The authorities couldn’t submit investigation reports about unnatural deaths of the BDR members over the last four months. The probe committee has demanded another two months for investigation.

Who were the masterminds of the BDR’s so-called mutiny? We have no idea, because, in Bangladesh, after every incident, the government says that they will find the culprits and punish them. But, the killers and criminals are always getting impunity in Bangladesh.

On Feb. 25-26, 2009, at the Pilkhana BDR headquarters, some of the BDR members revolted and, during that time, they were many killings of army members; their money was looted, including gold and other types of wealth, and army officers’ wives or daughters were raped. At least 75 persons, including 58 army officers, were killed by the so-called mutineers. These were gross human rights violations.

We want to see fair trials for the mutineers, both actual and accused. We know that some BDR members already died after torture during detention. The whole nation is waiting to see justice in connection with the BDR mutiny. We also want to see the inquiry report about the BDR mutiny and killings.